State Makes Buckling Up Rule Of Road

May 29, 1986|By Maya Bell, Sentinel Tallahassee Bureau

TALLAHASSEE — Beginning July 1, wearing seat belts in Florida will be more than just a lifesaving idea -- it will be the law.

On Wednesday the Senate passed a bill requiring front-seat passengers, with few exceptions, to buckle up or face a $20 fine. With House approval of the same bill last week, the measure is on its way to Gov. Bob Graham, who supports it. His signature will make Florida the 26th state to pass legislation requiring motorists to wear seat belts.

Motorists, however, will get a six-month reprieve from the fine. Violators caught from July 1 to Dec. 31 will receive only a warning, rather than a non-criminal citation. Police will not be able to ticket motorists unless they are stopped for some other violation and found not wearing seat belts.

Rep. Fred Lippman, D-Hollywood, who has pushed the legislation for three years, was elated with the 22 to 17 Senate vote. ''I felt like doing the Toyota ad,'' Lippman said, referring to the commercial where exuberant car owners leap into the air.

The victory did not come without a battle. Opponents fought vociferously, and sometimes humorously, to keep government out of what they believe should be personal decisions.

Trying to show the bill was excessive governmental intrusion, Sens. Dick Langley, R-Clermont, and William ''Doc'' Myers, R-Hobe Sound, introduced an amendment requiring that all bathtubs have safety harnesses. Citing 1,173 deaths from bathroom falls, Langley said bathtub harnesses would ''make people secure in their own homes.''

Langley did not expect the amendment to pass, but he made his point.

''The question is how far are we going to intrude into a person's liberty,'' he said. ''Every argument made can be used against smoking, drinking, college football, water skiing, boxing and backyard swings. There are dangers everywhere.''

Evidence in support of safety belts was overwhelming. Sen. George Stuart, D-Orlando, who sponsored the Senate bill with Sen. Ed Dunn, D-Ormond Beach, led the charge, hitting his colleagues with fact after fact.

He argued that fewer people would die in traffic accidents if they wore seat belts. For example, he said, traffic deaths dropped 17 percent in New York and 13 percent in New Jersey after those states required their residents to wear seat belts.

He said the law would serve its purpose by increasing use of seat belts. Usage doubled or tripled in states and countries -- including New York, New Jersey, England and Australia -- that have required their citizens to buckle up, Stuart said.

Stuart also raised an economic argument. He said the public would save millions of dollars in medical expenses, lost wages and insurance costs if people wore seat belts. He cited a study by Mercy Hospital in Miami that showed hospital bills for accident patients who wore safety belts were a third of those who did not.

Calling the governmental intrusion argument ''difficult,'' Stuart said the greater public purpose served by requiring seat belt use far outweighed the objections to abridging personal rights.

One amendment, which drew considerable support and debate, almost killed the bill. Offered by Sen. Don Childers, D-West Palm Beach, it would have required all school buses, which will be exempt from the law, to have seat belts. Childers said it made no sense to ignore children, who are especially vulnerable, in the seat belt issue.

Supporters successfully argued, however, that requiring seat belts in school buses would cost millions and kill the bill (CS/HB 40). Some pointed to studies that showed children were more likely to hit their heads on the seat in front of them if they were buckled up.

The bill includes other exemptions for mail carriers, newspaper carriers, tractors, motorcycles, mopeds, trucks of more than 5,000 pounds and people who have medical reasons for not wearing a seat belt.

It also requires insurers to reflect any saving from seat belt use in their premiums for car insurance.

By including the numerous exemptions and $20 fine, the bill is intentionally out of compliance with federal standards that, if met, would relieve auto manufacturers from installing air bags or other passive restraints. Supporters of the seat belt law also want air bags to become standard equipment.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Dole has required the auto industry to install air bags in all cars by 1989 unless legislatures representing two-thirds of the population pass seat belt laws that carry a $25 fine and exempt only people with medical excuses.